Пилар: Колыбель аргентинского федерализма и город контрастов

City in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

Pilar is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina with a population of 299,077 as per the It is part of the Greater Buenos Aires urban conurbation and is the seat of the administrative division of Pilar Partido. Since the early 1990s, Pilar has gained an increasingly upscale profile due to the development of numerous gated communities, country clubs and polo fields.

The rural outpost that later became Pilar was first assigned a local authority in 1774 with the appointment of Ventura López Camelo as its first alcalde, or mayor. Pilar is the site where the Treaty of Pilar was signed on February 23, 1820, establishing the basis for Argentine federalism, as a result of which the city of Pilar is acknowledged as the "Cradle of National Federalism." This Treaty marked the end of the war between the League of Free Peoples formed by the provinces of Entre Ríos and Santa Fe against Buenos Aires. The Parish of Our Lady of the Pillar was consecrated in 1856, and the partido (county) of Pilar was established in 1864, its first municipal mayor being Tomás Márquez. A Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway line, its first, reached the town in 1886, and by 1895 nearly 10,000 inhabitants lived in Pilar. The opening of National Route 8 in 1934 eased the commute to Buenos Aires, and Pilar subsequently became a growing commuter town. Numerous visitor and tourist attractions are located in the city. These include the Parish of Our Lady of the Pillar (1856); the October 12 Plaza facing it (both National Historic Monuments); the Spanish Colonial Revivalist City Hall (1896); the Alcalde Lorenzo López Historical Museum; Pando Carabassa Chalet (1900), the Argentine Polo Association therein, and the adjoining polo fields; several country clubs including the Highland Park Country Club (1948), Golfer's Country Club (1973), Pilar Golf Club (1992), and the Estancias Golf Club (2008); and the Pilar Nature Reserve (2003).

Signing of the Treaty of Pilar. It is celebrated on February 23, the anniversary of the peace agreement signed by Manuel de Sarratea, Governor of Buenos Aires; Estanislao López, Governor of Santa Fe; and Francisco Ramírez, governor of Entre Ríos. The treaty, signed in 1820, laid the foundation of the federal system of government today prevailing in Argentina. Pilar recalls the historic pact with protocol events, conferences and art festivals, among other activities. Our Lady of the Pilar. Each October 12, the community of Pilar and the whole Party celebrated the feast of their patron saint, the Virgin of Pilar. He remembers when, in 1729, a local indigenous man exposed to public worship an image of the Virgin in a chapel erected on his property. In addition to the liturgical activities, including the huge procession with the venerated image stands out, the Municipality of Pilar organized a civic military parade that the forces of the district, educational, social and sporting institutions, traditionalist centers and schools involved native dances, among other social organizations.